MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia’s Federal Security Service said on Monday it had detained 11 employees of an alleged global scam network which operated in the interests of a former Georgian defence minister.
An internationally organised criminal group operated call centres, which, under the guise of making investment deals, committed mass fraud against citizens of the European Union, the UK, Canada, Brazil, India, Japan and several other countries, the FSB said in a statement.
The FSB said that the call centres, “operated in the interests of the former Georgian Defence Minister and founder of Milton Group, David Kezerashvili, who is currently hiding in London.”
A spokesperson for Kezerashvili declined to comment.
A citizen of Israel and Georgia was also identified and is wanted on charges of disseminating – upon instructions from Ukrainian forces – anonymous messages about impending attacks on critical infrastructure in Russia, RIA reported.
Kezerashvili was Georgia’s defence minister in 2006-2008 under Mikheil Saakashvili, who was president of the south Caucasus nation from 2004 to 2013.
(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in MelbourneEditing by Ros Russell)
